Atal Bhu – Jal scheme was launched on 1 April, 2020 by Government of India, with assistance of –
- (1)World Bank
- (2)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- (3)Inter-American Development Bank
- (4)Asian Development Bank
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), World Bank.
Rajasthan's Economic Review 2020-21 uses the stem's own framing. Its Ground Water section says the Atal Bhu Jal scheme was launched on 1 April 2020 by the Government of India “with assistance of World Bank (50:50)” in seven states, including Rajasthan.
The Review gives the money: an estimated ₹6,000 crore, of which ₹3,000 crore is the World Bank's share and ₹3,000 crore the Government of India's.
PIB's release of 25 December 2019 describes the same split. Of the ₹6,000 crore outlay, 50% “shall be in the form of World Bank loan, and be repaid by the Central Government”; the other 50% is central assistance.
The assisting agency is the World Bank.
The idea to remember: Atal Bhujal Yojana: ₹6,000 crore, half a World Bank loan and half central assistance, in seven states for 2020-21 to 2024-25.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)European Bank for Reconstruction and Development — Neither PIB's release nor the Economic Review 2020-21 names this bank in Atal Bhujal Yojana. Both give the external half of the ₹6,000 crore as World Bank money.
The Review's chapter on externally aided projects also leaves it out of the agencies it lists as funding Rajasthan's projects.
- (3)Inter-American Development Bank — This bank does not appear in either source on the scheme. PIB says half of the outlay is a World Bank loan repaid by the Central Government, and the Review repeats the 50:50 split with the World Bank.
- (4)Asian Development Bank — The Asian Development Bank does fund projects in Rajasthan, which makes it plausible. The Economic Review 2020-21 records ADB assistance for the Rajasthan State Highway Development Project-I and for the Rajasthan Urban Sector Development Program (RUIDP Phase-III).
For Atal Bhujal Yojana, both sources name the World Bank.
Concept
Atal Bhujal Yojana, or Atal Jal, is about managing groundwater through communities. PIB says it was designed to strengthen the institutional framework for participatory groundwater management and bring behavioural change at community level.
PIB adds that it promotes panchayat-led groundwater management with primary focus on demand-side management. The Prime Minister said better-performing gram panchayats would get more allocation.
The World Bank loan and the central assistance are both passed on to the states as grants; the Central Government repays the loan.
RPSC's 2021 syllabus lists “Major Irrigation Projects & Water Conservation Techniques” under the Geography of Rajasthan.
The sources differ on the launch date. PIB reports that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the scheme on 25 December 2019, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's birth anniversary. The Economic Review 2020-21 says it was launched on 1 April 2020, the start of its five-year period.
For Rajasthan, the Review gives ₹1,189.65 crore as grant over five years, with 1,144 gram panchayats identified in 38 panchayat samitis of 17 districts.
Key facts
- Outlay ₹6,000 crore for 2020-21 to 2024-25: 50% World Bank loan repaid by the Centre, 50% central assistance (PIB, 25 December 2019).
- Seven states: Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
- PIB: the scheme is expected to benefit nearly 8,350 gram panchayats in 78 districts.
- Launch: PIB reports a launch by the Prime Minister on 25 December 2019; Rajasthan's Economic Review 2020-21 gives 1 April 2020.
- Rajasthan: ₹1,189.65 crore grant over 5 years; 1,144 gram panchayats of 38 panchayat samitis in 17 districts identified (Economic Review 2020-21).
Sources: PIB (Prime Minister's Office), 25 December 2019; Rajasthan Economic Review 2020-21, Ground Water section.
Study next
Common traps
- Picking the bank that funds other Rajasthan projects: ADB assists state highway and urban projects, but Atal Bhujal Yojana's partner is the World Bank.
- Reading 50:50 as a Centre–State split: the halves are a World Bank loan and central assistance, both given to states as grants.
- Treating the launch date as settled: PIB gives 25 December 2019, while Rajasthan's Economic Review gives 1 April 2020.
A question can name a scheme and ask which external agency assists it, with other multilateral banks as options.
A question can also ask the states covered, the outlay, or the funding split of such a scheme.
Related PYQs
Which of the following statement(s) is/are true for Atal Bhujal Scheme in Rajasthan ? (a) Atal Bhujal Scheme has been running by Government of Rajasthan with the Financial assistance of Govt. of India. (b) The focus of this scheme is on better management of ground water as well as to prevent its reducing level. Select the correct answer from the codes given below :
- (1) Neither (a) nor (b)
- (2) Only (b)
- (3) Only (a)
- (4) Both (a) and (b)
Answer(2)
Same scheme. That question tests two statements on Atal Bhujal Scheme in Rajasthan, one on who runs it with whose financial assistance and one on its focus on groundwater (RPSC's key: only (b), the focus statement); this one asks which external agency assists the scheme.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Under Atal Bhujal Yojana, the World Bank's share of the ₹6,000 crore outlay is provided as
- (a)a grant to the states directly from the World Bank
- (b)a loan repaid by the Central Government
- (c)a loan repaid by the participating states
- (d)equity in state water utilities
Answer(2) — PIB says 50% shall be in the form of World Bank loan and be repaid by the Central Government. Option (3) is wrong because the loan component is passed to states as grants; options (1) and (4) are not how PIB describes it. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following States is NOT among the seven covered by Atal Bhujal Yojana?
- (a)Rajasthan
- (b)Haryana
- (c)Punjab
- (d)Karnataka
Answer(3) — PIB lists Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. Punjab is not in that list; options (1), (2) and (4) are.